08-20-2010, 09:51 AM

Im looking to upgrade from my macbook white (nearly 2 and a half years old now) to a new imac.

Spec: 2.1 ghz intel core duo, 4gb ram, 120 gb hard drive, 500gb external seagate HD, 160gb external seagate HD

I am running logic 8 and use AU's such as all the native instruments ones, Rob Papen synths and Spectrasonics instruments a lot (normally running at least 10 instances of each in a project). Everything i do is software based and i am not currently running an external audio interface but i will probably get one to connect my mackies and my decks.

My macbook is now struggling to keep up with it all and regularly cuts out while playing which gets very frustrating, therefore i feel it is time to upgrade.

I dont have much money and am looking at buying the basic imac available on the apple site. Would the step up from 2.1ghz dual core to 3.06 ghz i3 processor be significant and very noticable i.e. would it stop logic cutting out while playing? or is it actually worth going for a quad core even though the i3 processor can run 4 threads at once?

Also, is it worth going all out on 8gb of ram or would it not be worth it if i wasnt running a much more powerful processor?

Any issues with the hard drive, graphics cards etc?

Obviously a new imac will have a significantly improved performance to a 2 and half year old basic macbook white but i just need to know if it is worth spending a lot more money on a more top spec imac since i cannot afford to be upgrading very often.

Matt

08-20-2010, 01:28 PM

Moved to appropriate forum.

08-21-2010, 04:55 AM

If you can afford an iMac, then buy it.
If you have had no problem with using Logic for your music needs on your macbook, then stick with it.

Until I am conducting/directing/recording/producing/arranging for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, I'll stick with my '07 MBP and Logic 9.

08-21-2010, 05:21 AM

^did u read the thread?

08-21-2010, 01:51 PM

My macbook is now struggling to keep up with it all and regularly cuts out while playing which gets very frustrating, therefore i feel it is time to upgrade.

I dont have much money and am looking at buying the basic imac available on the apple site. Would the step up from 2.1ghz dual core to 3.06 ghz i3 processor be significant and very noticable i.e. would it stop logic cutting out while playing? or is it actually worth going for a quad core even though the i3 processor can run 4 threads at once?

The basic iMac (21.5" model) should be more than adequate for what you need to use it for. The one thing I would do after purchasing it, is to upgrade the memory to 8 GB. The other option you have is to order it with a larger hard drive. The current stock 500 GB may not be large enough for your usage. It's actually better to order the larger HDD from Apple rather than do it yourself. Upgrading a HDD on any iMac is a fairly difficult task whereas upgrading the memory is very easy.

IMO, it's not worth spending the extra $$ for the quad core. Very few apps can even take advantage of it. The i3 will give you plenty of power with its ability to multi-thread processes.

Regards.

08-21-2010, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

The one thing I would do after purchasing it, is to upgrade the memory to 8 GB.

Agreed. Much more cost effective to upgrade aftermarket.

08-22-2010, 05:01 AM

Cheers for the advice im definately just gona go ahead and get the base model. im not gona uprgade the RAM to 8gb straight away, il leave it a month or so and see how it copes with my projects and if i feel that i need it il get some. i think upgrading to logic 9 would be wise aswell as it supports 64 bit so logic itself would run faster and more efficient.